The long run

I like to walk. And I have walked long distances. In this context, "long distance" means 2 kilometres. Any distance beyond that will be testing the limit of my endurance. With these thoughts, I registered for the Sunfeast Open 10K run. I had to run 10 kilometres and in this context "10 kms" means very very long distance.

May 31st was race day and I got up early to reach Kanteerva Stadium. The first challenge was to find a parking slot for my car. After circling a few kilometres, I parked the car on a road which was too narrow for 2 lanes and right near a turn. Being a Sunday, I placed all my hope on God to take care of my car.

I got the Bib number (I wonder why they call it "bib") from one of my friends and I was ready to run. The million dollar question was whether to compete or complete. The answer was pretty simple - forget competing, focus on completing. As they say in a slight modification of a famous poster - "We cannot spell comp ete without 'l' ".

The crowd was huge and the race started exactly at 8:15 AM. But by the time we reached the start point, the time was already 8:35 AM. We were part of such a big crowd. Some ran for a cause, some ran for fun and some just ran from something. I did not know why I was running but I just ran - Forrest Gump style.

After what seemed a long time, I reached the 2 km mark. I was sure that something was wrong with the measurements because I was running for a long time and I should have atleast reached the 7 km mark. But anyways, I saw some folks taking photos near the mark - they were definitely not competing. Then came the water booths and the toilet booths. There were queues even in those toilet booths - this is India and we have queues everywhere even though no one respects them. The people standing in the queue might be competing to answer nature's call but they were definitely not competing to win the race.

After the 4 km mark, I started walking instead of jogging. In this context, "walking" means running very very slowly. I saw people of all sizes, shapes and colour passing me. Then I saw a good old grandpa. I was really impressed by the desire and the will power of that good old man to participate in the marathon and to have come so far. I saw him till the 7 km mark and I sincerely hope that he compeleted the full 10 kms.

After the 7 km mark, the path of the Open 10K run merged with the Maja 5k run and it became very crowded. There were lots of kids and lots of fancy dress material. In this context, "fancy dress" means not appropriate for running. I chugged on powered by water, electrolyte and a dogged determination to run on and finish the marathon.

90 minutes after I started, the distance covered was 10 kms and the displacement was 0 km. I was back at Kanteerva Stadium - a lot tired than I started but a lot satisfied. I was filled with a sense of accomplishment and it was time to fill myself with some calories. I got my participation certificate and some refreshments and started to go back home.

There was one challenge left - finding the car and more importantly finding it safe. I passed the challenge. My body complained the whole day and the day after that. In this context, "complain" means incredible pain. I had to ask myself one important question - no one noticed that I finished the 10K run and I did not even get a proof for my completion - why the hell did I partcipate and do the 10K run? The answer is simple - I always knew that I had plenty of determination and I just wanted to test it. I took the test and passed it with flying colours. In this context, "flying" means floating with happiness. Needless to say, I will take the test next year too.